Army launches software to digitise data on soldiers

New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday launched a software to digitise records of over 12 lakh soldiers of the Indian Army.

The software, ARPAN 3.0, was launched as part of the ‘Digital India Week’.

Files and documents from seven records offices of the army have already been digitised, covering around 32 percent of the total soldiers.

Launching the website, Parrikar said the work of digitising all records will be done in a year.

“In one year, we will have a perfect website,” Parrikar said.

In another year, records of all 45 record offices of the army, covering more than 12 lakh soldiers, will be digitised, he added.

Accessible on the intranet connecting army stations, a website will allow soldiers access to their account information through a website through a login name and password.

It will have personal details, including documentation, unit administration, salary, leave, transfer and postings, besides various reports and returns. The details can also be sent from one unit to other, if needed.

Officials said kiosks will also be set at different stations to allow soldiers to check their uploaded information.

It will also help in calculating pensions once the soldier retires.

Army Chief General Dalbir Singh, meanwhile, said it will “enhance efficiency”.

“Units and individuals will be able to access records….It will also enhance the efficiency of the record office,” he said.

An army official said the software has been developed jointly by the Army Software Development Centre (ASDC) and Tech Mahindra, at a cost of Rs.1.9 crore.

It is an advanced version of previous software ARPAN 2.0.

An official involved in the development of the software said the transfer of records from ARPAN 2.0 format to the new version was a time-consuming process.

While this initiative focuses on digitising records of the Joint Commissioned Officers and jawans, the records of around 45,000 officers have already been digitised, he said.

The Sangh Parivar, better known as the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) celebrated the 125th anniversary of the song in 2002. Wikimedia Commons

RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a is an Indian right-wing

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed his views on Indian Army’s preparation in his speech to RSS workers in Muzaffarpur in Bihar

Kiren Rijiju said if the Constitution permits, RSS can go ahead with its interference in military matters.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wants to re-mould the Indian State with a military which adheres to Hindutva, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has said.

This is the message that emerges from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s speech to RSS workers in Muzaffarpur in Bihar that while the Army takes six to seven months to train its soldiers, the RSS can get its cadres ready for battle in two to three days, the CPI-M said.

“This remark has drawn widespread condemnation, with the main criticism being that the RSS chief had insulted the Indian army by claiming that the RSS can do a better job than the Army in training soldiers,” an editorial in the CPI-M journal “People’s Democracy,” said.

“While this criticism is valid, the intent of these remarks is much more serious,” it said. “The statement has revealed a vital aspect of the RSS outlook about the Army and the militarization of society.”

The editorial said: “What the RSS wants in the re-moulding of the Indian State is armed forces which adhere to Hindutva. For Bhagwat, the soldier in the Indian Army and the Swayamsevak of the RSS are on the same footing.

RSS world’s largest organisation promote Hindutva.

“Under the present Indian Constitution, such an integration of the Army and the RSS is not possible.

That is why, both the RSS clarification and the defence put out by (Minister of State for home) Kiren Rijiju makes this qualification that if the Constitution permits, the RSS can go ahead with its interference in military matters.

“The implication is ominous: a re-worked Constitution should enable this to happen.”